Japanese symbol for “strained”
不自然
ふしぜん
Romaji: fushizen
unnatural; artificial; affected; strained
In Japanese, strained is 不自然, read ふしぜん (fushizen).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adj-na, n unnatural; artificial; affected; strained
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “strained”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 苦しい | くるしい kurushii | strained (interpretation, explanation, etc.); lame (e.g. excuse); forced (e.g. smile) |
| 重苦しい | おもくるしい omokurushii | heavy (feeling, etc.); gloomy (weather, etc.); oppressive (atmosphere, etc.) |
| 牽強付会 | けんきょうふかい kenkyoufukai | strained (argument, interpretation, etc.); farfetched (theory, view, etc.); forced |
| ギクシャク | ギクシャク gikushaku | strained (relations); sour |
| きな臭い | きなくさい kinakusai | smelling of gunpowder (i.e. as if armed conflict is about to break out); tense; strained |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不明 | ふめい fumei | unclear; obscure; indistinct |
| 不安 | ふあん fuan | anxiety; uneasiness; worry |
| 不足 | ふそく fusoku | insufficiency; deficiency; shortage |
| 不満 | ふまん fuman | dissatisfaction; discontent; displeasure |
| 不可能 | ふかのう fukanou | impossible |
| 不思議 | ふしぎ fushigi | wonderful; marvelous; strange |
| 自分 | じぶん jibun | myself; yourself; oneself |
| 自身 | じしん jishin | (one's) self; oneself; yourself |
| 自然 | しぜん shizen | nature |
See also: Chinese symbol for “strained”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.